Six Smart Women Discussing Doctor Who

As you may have guessed from our tag line we are six women, from across the globe, with opinions — mostly about Doctor Who, but that’s a gateway to talk about other issues such as feminism, racism, history, social politics, and general geekery. We hail from the United States, Canada, The United Kingdom, and Australia. We’re writers, editors, podcasters, bloggers, and fans who really really like Doctor Who. We don’t think it’s perfect, but that’s okay, neither are we. (Want to learn more about who we are? Check out the “Behind the Voices” links on the right.)

As an introduction to Verity!* we’ve each selected a release for you to sample. We hope you find something that catches your attention!

Deb recommends Episode 3 – A Perfect 10? – “This was early days for us and this ep sort of shocked listeners. We disagreed – vehemently! In a world of congenial podcast hosts, this was a bit unexpected. I think this episode really displays the passion we bring to our debates. (The gatekeeping conversation is also pretty amazing, and made this a close second choice as a sample episode for Lynne!)” If you like spirited discussion, this episode is for you.

Erika recommends Episode 16 – 7b, to Rhyme with Squee – “By this time I really think we were hitting our stride. This ep covers an entire (half-)season of Doctor Who, so listeners don’t need to have seen every episode to feel like they’re in on the fun. Also, there’s a lot of intelligent, enthusiastic discussion about Clara, both as a character and a ‘mystery’.” If you’re a fan of season-overviews (and Clara), this ep’s for you.

Katrina recommends Episode 19 – Doctor 5 Is Alive! – “A good representation of a ‘normal’ episode for the Verities. Shockingly, we actually come to a (sort of) agreement about the story being representative, even if it was originally picked because it’s a favourite!” If you’ve ever wondered about classic Who subtext, or if you saw the fifth Doctor in “Time Crash” and want to know more about him, this one is for you.

Liz recommends Extra! – Chicago TARDIS – LIVE! – “It’s not at all representative: Erika’s in charge! We have a guest! But I love the energy and pace of the in-person recordings, and sometimes people applaud! And laugh! It’s terribly exciting.” If you wonder what the Verities sound like when they record in the same room (in front of an audience!), this is the episode for you.

Lynne recommends Episode 29 – A Day in the Lives – “We were (almost) all together, we were enthusiastic, and we had a great time!” This ep is a squeeful crowd-pleaser. If you want joy, this one’s for you.

Tansy recommends Extra! – Fangirls Just Wanna Have Fun – “It was a really meaty conversation about fandom, being fannish while female, and has its own (borrowed) theme song from the Doubleclicks.” If you are a fan (of anything), this is for you.

Our format is simple. Every other week we discuss a topic that fits our yearly theme. Last year we counted down to the 50th anniversary by examining episodes we felt represented each Doctor’s era. This year we’re talking about the villains, baddies, and miscreants who vex the Doctor. We open every episode on a note of joy: we each mention something that’s caught our attention in the world of Doctor Who. (And what a grab bag of goodness that can be!)

On alternate weeks we post a Verity! Extra – a mini episode where we discuss topics from the silly to the sublime. It’s occasionally serious, but for the most part, this is where we have fun, talk about fannish things, laugh, interview women involved in the world of Doctor Who, or review books/DVDs/audios.

We are passionate about this thing we love, and it shows. We rarely agree, and we defend our positions with vigor…and then we spend another hour online after we’ve finished recording, chatting about Rupert Graves or Blake’s 7 or June Hudson’s fabulous costume designs. Our goal is this: Imagine your very best “conversation at the bar” with your very best friends at the very best convention you’ve ever attended. Now make it a podcast. That’s Verity! We’d love to have you join us.

Thanks for visiting us here at Verity! We hope you’ll decide to stay.

*Yes, we know the exclamation point can be confusing, but it’s part of who we are. It indicates the passion and personality of our podcast as well as our namesake, Verity Lambert. (Want to learn more about Verity Lambert? Check out the “Our Inspiration” button at the top right.)

Comments on: "Welcome to Verity!" (9)

[…] ceremony will be in London this year, a mere 400-ish miles away! Splendid days. (We also have an intro to the podcast type post up, if somehow you’re here, and interested in Doctor Who podcasts and haven’t tried it […]

I’m leaving this question here because I’m not sure where else to put it; I hope that’s ok! Does anyone (particularly those of you with children) have an idea of a good place to start a 10yo boy in the world of Dr Who internet fandom? Or should we just skip it until he’s a teenager? My stepson has gone from mad keen on the new series to obsessed with the old series, and while I can sit and talk continuity all night long, I think it’d be nice to find him some other kids to talk to. Or books, or *something* suitable for minors. Any advice, oh Verities?

Hi Sarah! Erika here. While I don’t have any children, I’ll make sure the others see this so they can chime in if they want. I also put out the call on Twitter with a link here so maybe others can chime in.

Who knows? Maybe another fan-parent out there will have a child of similar age, and your kids can be Doctor Who pen pals! (Golly I sound old.) 🙂

Not a verity, just a fan parent here. My son is the same age, but not as keen as yours on doctor who… And honestly I’m glad in this respect because I can’t think of anywhere seriously whoish for him to hang out on the Internet. He has seen some doctor who things through Google plus, where a real life friend of his is a bigger fan than he, and some though scratch, a kid friendly (as far as I can tell) programming language and community–where incidentally some folks spend their time programming doctor who things, apparently. That’s all I’ve got, though. 😦

My 9 year old daughter is a total fan girl and started wanting more than just the show last year. She buys the official magazines sometimes but has got very into Doctor Who on Tumblr. She loves fan art and gifs from the show, and she had her own Tumblr page so she can put on her own fan art. We’ve agreed that she only looks at it with me, and discussed why. I’ve chosen who she follows, people who post age appropriate content etc and so far so good. As I can read faster than her we sometimes flick through bits of the feed quite quickly, but as she’d rather looks at gifs and can’t be bothered to read long posts anyway, so far it’s been fine!

I love this question! My 6 year old son has been head over heels for Doctor Who for about a year. We have watched the entire reboot and have spent a good deal of time watching Tom Baker (Daddy’s Doctor!). Twitter, Google+, YouTube and podcasts have been a great intro to Internet fandom for him. He doesn’t get to surf on his own so I will find the best things I have found throughout the day and sit down before bed and show him and then talk about them with him. Last night we spent quite a bit of time talking about ‘Amy Pond’ in the new Guardians of the Galaxy poster. All of that being said, the Internet has been only a push medium for him at this point. It would be extremely interesting to see a kids fandom place for them to set up camp and interact. Follow me on Twitter at @tweetTARDIS and maybe we can find something together!

Daughter started watching new Who with me a few years in, but wasn’t interested. Too much bang, not enough story. So I tried old Who on here with William Hartnell, “Unearthly Child” and she was hooked. Even more so with the first appearance of the Daleks.

In the several years since then she has gotten Dr. Who t-shirts, calendars, miniatures, a plushie TARDIS, written Dr. Who fan fiction and a Dr. Who fan fiction comic.

And in her week-long “solo performance” workshop a summer camp, she managed to work an extensive reference to the TARDIS into her performance.

So, encourage it. She’s read a lot of stuff on the side as a result, including history and science books. It’s worth a shot.